My name is Callan Porter-Romero, and I am a third year Ecology, Behavior and Evolution major. In a couple weeks, I will be embarking on a journey to Nicaragua to research an animal of my choice. It will most likely be a bird because, let’s face it, I am an up and coming bird lady. I got my start recently when I began to take care of zebra finches, which are positively the most adorable and ridiculous creatures I have come to love. However, I have never designed or implemented a research project before, so this will be an exciting and new experience. I will also finally know after this trip if a career in animal research is a path worth continuing.

When I was five years old I dreamed of becoming an alchemist or a witch so I could make potions. Usually that entailed grinding random plants together that would then sit in a jar for months on end. My parents were obviously thrilled when I stopped doing that and decided to pursue ethnobotany instead. My experience in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest during junior year in high school solidified my interest in working in a rainforest environment. Additionally, taking an ecology class at UCLA made me realize that studying animals is very important to me. I intend to eventually return to Ecuador and accurately research medicinal plants and/or animals using the knowledge gained from the field quarter in Nicaragua.

Ideally, if I do come back from this trip in one piece, I will be comfortable knowing that I am following the right path and that I now have a community of people who share similar passions as myself. This concept of wholeness is refreshing and frustrating, especially for a college student who is always hunting down their “one true identity.” And to find not one new potential friend, but thirteen others who I know will help improve one another’s characters? Impossible.

We will all go through a similar experience in Nicaragua with it meaning various things to us. We will be enchanted, haunted, and inspired. Enchanted because the beauty of life in the rainforest makes you captive. Haunted because other people who do not share this raw feeling and knowledge may not understand. Inspired because there are now many people who do understand and will provide positive encouragement for pursuing your goals.